Forever in the Past and Forever in the Future

After congratulating the happy couple, we make our way around the hospital wing, handing out boxes to the grateful staff and the patients who are happy to get a visit from their Alpha and Luna. When all the boxes run out, we make our way back up to the apartment. I give Tessa a deep hug, letting her energy surround me without pulling it from her. It feels very structured and controlled to hug her, but full of gratitude and love at the same time.

“Everything’s going to work out for the Manae, Tessa. I'm going to make sure of it,” I pat my hand against her face reassuringly.

“Little Sister, I don’t know how you think you could make a difference on your own, but I commend your tenacity,” she gives me a kiss on the cheek and makes her way down the hall.

I get back to my normal routine and make dinner for Bronx. He comes into the kitchen and helps make the side dishes, listening to my instructions carefully. Just like the guards and warriors I have given lessons to in the past, using the paring knife proves too difficult for Bronx's large hands so I help him peel the veggies and pretend not to see him sneak nibbles from the salad while I’m putting the meatloaf in the oven.

“I'm so glad you're feeling better, Kas. Except for having to be followed around by two guards, today was almost...well... dare I say ‘normal’ for us,” he tenderly wraps his arms around me, “Now to get you looking healthy again. Tell that sassy wolf of yours to get you healed up.”

“You can tell him I've been a little fucking BUSY healing you from attacks by the Mavri Magea,” Lex growls impatiently.

“Lex, chill. Training is over. No more drills tomorrow,” I remind her, “Let’s just enjoy this evening with our mate. Please.”

I feel her sigh heavily, “I’m sorry, Kas. You're right. I’m just a little stressed out.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s going to be okay. We've got this.”

“What are you two talking about in there?” Bronx asks, poking the side of my head playfully, bringing me back to reality.

“She’s just excited to get to go for arun tomorrow,” I brush my fingers against the scruff on his chin and pull him toward me for a kiss.

While we wait for dinner to finish cooking, we talk a little about pack business and things that have been happening since I have been back from Greece. I try my best to avoid talking about future plans and give vague answers about Solstice and baby showers for all the women who are pregnant.

We clean up the dishes and watcha couple of cooking competition shows on television before we go to bed. As we snuggle under my green and gray blanket on the sofa, I let my eyes close. When I open them, I'm in the hallway of the Mavri Magea apartment. I let myself in and greet my sisters as I always do, with hugs and words of appreciation. A conference table has materialized in the living room with ten seats for us to review the information Leticia got today while she was looking through my eyes. I explain the areas where security has increased and areas that shouldn't be a problem. I warn it's a dangerous mission for everyone and they need to stay on guard. In amore compassionate tone, I tell them if anyone doesn't make it, we will see them in our next lifetime.

I show them pictures of all the women who are pregnant who we believe are going to give birth to goddesses or guardians, making sure they understand it is strictly off limits to be in contact with these women.

We practice shifting again, making sure everyone has timing down. I watch as nine beautiful black wolves with violet eyes look at me expectantly, tails wagging. They are all almost as big as Lex, but not quite. Close enough to confuse anyone who isn’t paying close attention.

“You're going to be wonderful, my darlings,” I coo at them with pride, “For now, it’s time for me to get back to the packhouse. Be ready. You have a few hours to prepare.”

They all shift back, putting oversized t- shirts on before they bid me good night, giving me hugs and telling me how proud they are of me.

When I open my eyes again, I’m in bed, cradled in Bronx’s arms. I look out the window and see the sun rising. I grip him tighter and breathe his scent deeply before I wake him up with a kiss on his nose.

“Do you have to go down for training this morning, Sweetheart?” I ask softly. He groans and unwraps himself from around me, rubbing his face with his hands, “Yeah. Tessa is helping with a hand to hand fighting clinic. I said I would observe.”

“Can I go?” ask sleepily.

Please say no.

“Let's give it another couple days to make sure you really have your strength back,” he kisses my forehead, “ You did a lot the past two days and you're letting Lex go for a run today. Get some rest, Baby.”

Thank the Goddess.

I roll my eyes as he gets out of bed and goes to put on clothes for training. He’s so overprotective, but I guess I will be grateful for the extra couple of hours of sleep.

“Are you going to the office today?” I call to him.

Please say yes.

“Not today. I'll be working from the home office,” his muffled voice replies from the closet room.

Shit.

He comes out and kisses me goodbye. I let my lips linger against his for a moment before he leaves then I let myself close my eyes and get some actual sleep.

aK

“Alright, Kas, don’t let Lex get too far a head of us. It defeats the purpose of us trailing you. We'll give you space, but we still gotta have eyes on you,” Marco instructs as we stand at the treeline, “ Stay in the assigned quadrant. We don’t wanna trigger no security protocols.”

“Got it. Can we go now?’ I ask hastily, pulling off my dress, already feeling the prickly sensation of fur under my skin.

“Kas, a little modesty?” James scolds as he turns away.

“Hell with modesty, James,” I roll my eyes and shift, letting Lex stretch and yawn as she shakes out her fur and waits for our escorts to shift as well.

“Ready, Lex? You know where we're headed, right?”

“Ready...steady...GO!” she yells into the minds of the rest of the wolves waiting on her and takes off like a bullet from a gun.

I sit back and let her romp through the underbrush, scaring small animals and flushing birds. She howls happily as she strides effortlessly through our territory, enjoying the crisp, late November air. In the distance, we can hear our escorts howl, their paws pounding the ground to Keep up.

“There it is, Kas. Are you ready?” Lex directs us to the old abandoned cabin.

“Yeah. Get ready to set the timer,” I say, already prepping to shift.

Lex sprints until she slides to a stop on the back side of the cabin. I shift as quickly as possible and tear off the tracker necklace, throwing it to the ground in disgust. I recite an incantation, creating a portal.

“Thirty seconds, Kas. Come on, we have to go,” Lex growls.

“Almost done,” I concentrate as the edges of the portal become more defined until it shimmers confidently in mid air. As soon as I'm sure it’s stable, I run, shifting back to wolf form as we go, and sprint back toward Clash and Reaper, who are surely going to be mad that I went out of their sight.

Behind me, I hear the happy howls of my sisters as they come out of the portal, spreading themselves into a wide formation.

“We're set, Kas,” Leticia’s voice rings in my mind. For once, she sounds serious and focused.

“Remember, whatever you do, don’t stop,” I order, “We meet back at the apartment. Goddess speed, my darlings.”

“Eighty five seconds!” Lex yells as she crests a hill. Marco, James, and the four other guards who were assigned to escort me are barreling toward us.

"KAS? LEX? WHERE ARE YOU?" Saint's voice howls in our mind.

"Lex! What are you doin’?” I hear Marco's wolf, Clash, in our mind.

“It’s go time, Clash,” Lex chuckles at him, “You got our back?”

“You know I do,” Clash responds just as Lex barrels past him, Reaper, and two other wolf guards at full speed. They skid to a stop behind us and turn around to catch us, but it’s no use. Lex is already half way down the mountain.

“Don’t slow down Lex,” I urge her.

“I'm sorry, did you say faster?” She laughs and somehow picks up her sprint to a whole other level of fast.

There is some barking and growling in the distance as the guards discover the other black wolves making their way through the woods, but not as far back as I thought they would be.

"Didn't the Luna pass us? We just saw her up he-. Wait, what the fuck?" A guard calls out, confused, as he sees other black wolves with violet eyes.

In front of us, I can feel the ground shaking and Saint's thundering paws are echoing in my ears.

“Lex?” Saint growls, “Kas took the necklace off.”

“She sure did, my love,” Lex teases. She finds a rock formation to hide in and watches as Saint runs up the mountain.

He is so focused on the location of the necklace, that he completely ignores our scent and runs straight past us toward the cabin. Beyond him, two black wolves are making an all-out run toward the packhouse.

Lex pants as the packhouse comes into view. The side door is wide open, so we sprint toward it.

“It's gonna work, Kas. We're almost there,” she says triumphantly.

We slow down as we get to the door and look behind us. Nine giant black wolves with glowing violet eyes walk toward us silently, with heads lowered, waiting for instructions.